Flu rates still low so far, survey indicates

Winter may be well underway in Britain, but the flu season has yet to take hold, new data has suggested.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is running its annual Flusurvey, which invites members of the public to submit data about their own illnesses and symptoms - 4,000 individuals have signed up.

It found that so far, 6,000 cases have been reported per 100,000 people, much lower than the 12,000 in the same period of 2012.

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Where flu had been occurring, the highest number of cases were in the south-east of England, Scotland and Wales.

Interestingly, the lowest infection rates were among over-65s as of the week ending December 15th, while the highest were recorded in youngsters up to the age of 18.

Flusurvey researcher Dr Alma Adler said: 'This is in line with what we already know about children being the 'key spreaders' of flu. Flu cases usually dip during the school holidays, so we may see even lower levels of people reporting influenza-like illness over the festive season.'

It was announced in November that flu data from schools is being used in the survey for the first time in 2013-14, as well as information on whether or not exercise and diet could help in preventing infection.

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